Ascension
by GrimoireSanguine
Summary: Surtr Ice-Veins was once the Champion of Cyrodiil, he possessed wealth, power, and his own castle. After having been stripped of everything and sealed away for 200 years he has returned, and will do whatever it takes to rise to power once more.
1. Chapter 1

It was his first mission with the Dawnguard, they were supposed to scout out the tomb of an ancient vampire in Falkreath Hold and exterminate it if it was still there. They had seven men including himself. Only three of them were veteran vampire hunters, two Nords named Karl and Sven, and one Breton named Elara. Sven and Karl were both suited in full sets of steel plated heavy armor other members of the Dawnguard wore, Sven wielded a silver greatsword and his twin brother Karl had a Dawnguard war hammer. Elara was a priestess of Arkay and a mage, she wore hooded monks robes over leather armor, and had a wooden staff with a round white orb set into the top. The other four vampire hunters had yet to fight the undead, but most of them had once been mercenaries. Except for Agmaer, he was just a farm boy and the other members of their group were quick to remind him of it.

The ruins they had been sent to investigate were north west of Falkreath, just off the road. The tip had apparently come from the Arch Mage of the college of Winterhold herself. However when they arrived all they managed to find were a few spriggans, which Karl was able to handle with ease.

"Well this was a waste, should have known better than to trust that damned mage." Grumbled Sven, ignoring the glare Elara was giving him from the entrance.

"Isran believed her, so I doubt her information was off. Maybe we are at the wrong ruins?" Responded one of the other vampire hunters, a Dark Elf named Relmyna.

Sven kicked one of the gnarled roots sprawling across the stone floor, "This is the one she marked on the map, so it has to be it right?" The question had been directed towards Agmaer, and Sven expected an answer.

"U-um-I-I think so, sure?" he managed to stutter out, immediately looking at the ground in embarrassment, and noticed something different about the ground where Sven was standing. Sven just let out a laugh at the novice's reply and turned to his brother.

"Lets get out of here, we're not gonna find anything and I want a drink."

"Aye, same here. But I'm not paying for you this time...eh what are you doing lad?"

Agmaer was on his knees brushings aside weeds and dirt, the other vampire hunters were know watching him chuckling to themselves and making snide remarks.

"Hey what are you doing Agmaer, did you miss your pa's farm so bad you wanna try and grow something here?" asked Swings-his-Sword, an Argonian in light armor with a silver sword on his belt and crossbow on his back.

"Hold on you all, I think he's found something" shot Elara, the only one that usually sided with Agamaer. He had cleared a good amount of the floor and Elara noticed there was something carved into it. "Stand back, I can handle the rest." Agamaer nodded and stood, trying to dust of his hands on his pants. Elara raised her hand and allowed a gout of fire to flow from her finger tips, burning the remaining roots and scattering the rocks and dirt. When the flames died out the carving was more visible, it was a large symbol of Arkay, carved into a large stone circle which was cracked down the middle. Through the gap Elara could make out a set of stairs.

"Good job boy, help Karl and Azurk move the stone out of the way." Azurk grunted ad went to one side of the stone, However Karl waved Agamaer away saying,

"Don't need help from some no good milk-drinker who's only ever swung his pa's axe." and with an oomph lifted the other half of the and rolled it out of the way. The stair case spiraled down fa enough that the bottom was obscured by darkness. A blast of cool damp air rushed up as though the tunnel was exhaling, releasing a breath it had been holding for Gods knew how many years.

"Well," spoke Relmyna after and uncomfortable silence, "anyone got a light?"

None of them had any torches so Elara led the way with a conjured mage light, the small white ball bobbing up and down as they descended into the ruins. Agmaer was at the back of their line so he could barely see the light, he was nervous but the darkness behind them kept him from stopping. They finally reached the bottom of the long stairwell, and passed though a small archway into a long tunnel with torches that sprang to life by themselves as they entered. He had barely made it into the tunnel when the exit was sealed by a set of iron bars that slid up from the floor.

"Damn it boy! What did you do?" Growled Azurk in his deep orcish accent.

"I-nothing!"

"Leave it to you to screw it up Agmaer." said Swings-his-Sword as he shook is scaly head in disappointment.

"But I didn't do anything!"

Sven strode forward and gave the bars a hard tug, "No good, they aren't going anywhere."

"Stand aside brother, let a real Nord handle it." Karl said with confidence as he pulled his hammer from his back. Elara grabbed him by the shoulder and shook her head.

"Karl save your strength, if there is a vampire down here then we can't afford to risk you getting injured because you wasted all of your energy on something like this. There is probably another way out further into the crypt."

Karl stared at her for a few seconds, and then sighed as he lowered his hammer, "Fine, after all you lot would be doomed without me to have your backs."

As they progressed through the tunnel they reached a massive iron door that was sealed by a large metal door bar. Azurk lifted it and from its place on the door and set it on the ground, then they stepped into the massive chamber on the other side. In the center was a pool of water that had almost dried up, but glowed with silvery light. Above it was a large ebony coffin suspended by silver chains that were bolted to the walls. Eight shrines to Arkay were set up around the chamber, faint beams of golden light shone from the shrines onto the coffin. On the other end of the room was a black door with another symbol of Arkay carved into it and to the right was a small room with a skeleton seated at a table. Sven was the first to speak. "Do you guys think inside of that is where the vampire is?"

Elara nodded, "Yes, but it doesn't look like he is going anywhere. What I want to know is why go through so much trouble to seal one vampire, it would have been easier to just kill it. Spread out and look for anything that might reveal a clue as to who is in that coffin." Agamaer separated from the group and went to investigate the skeleton. Looking closer at it he could see it was wearing rusted chain mail with some rotting cloth hanging from it in scraps. The body was slumped over the table and Agamaer could see a book was clutched to its chest. Carefully he pried the book from the skeletons bony hands and opened it. Most of the letters were smudged but still readable.

_4E 445 Midyear 22, _

_I am Tobias Iron-Hand, Divine Crusader and champion of the Nine. It has been 2 months since I have sealed myself in this chamber to lock away the monster that would threaten the good people of_ _Skyrim. His name was Surtr Ice-Veins and in life he was one of my closest friends and the champion of Cyrodiil. However, when one of his servants turned him into a vampire the kinship between us was lost. I could not best him in battle, he always was a stronger warrior, even with the relics of the divines I was only able to weaken him enough to seal him away. I have given the relics to one of my subordinates and sent him back to the priory, for I must stay here and pray to Arkay to keep the monster weakened and prevent his escape. My food supplies are running low and I know now that I will perish long before my foe. I ask those that may find this tomb leave while the can, for if the holy powers that keep him sealed fade, no one may escape from his terrible hunger. _

Agamaer read the last sentence again and felt a chill run down his spine. He knew that none of them could hope to slay the vampire, and that the more time they spend here the less likely it was they would be able to leave. He stared walking towards everyone to let them know what he had found when he saw Karl bump into one of the shrines causing it to smash to pieces on the floor.

"KARL NO!" shouted Agamaer but it was to late, the damage was done.

"Huh? What is it now milk drinker?" Asked the nord, quickly realizing what it was he had broken. The rest of the group had heard the shouting and were coming over to where Agamaer and Karl stood.

"What is it? What happened?" asked Elara, before he could answer each one of the shrines stopped glowing and one by one they exploded.

"What did you do Agamaer!?" Shrieked Relmyna, and Agamaer quickly shook his head and said, "Nothing! Karl broke one of the shrines, but we need to leave fast. The vampire here is-" Agamaer was cut off by the sound of the chains snapping and the coffin falling into the water. The water was shallow so the coffin wasn't submerged, it stood straight up in the mud, and slowly the lid began to open.


	2. Chapter 2-Slaughter

The group of vampire hunters watched in silence as the lid to the black coffin which had opened slightly, but not enough to reveal its occupant. A single bony hand reached through the crack and grasped the lid and pushed it open. Each of them readied whatever weapons they held, from crossbows to swords and in Karl's case a large hammer. Inside stood a being that closely resembled a draugr, the difference being its shriveled eyes were bright red and even from where he stood Agmaer could see its fangs.

As the water surrounding the coffin poured in, the vampire let out a blood chilling screech. Steam was rising from around its feet, which were under the water. The noise startled all of them, and caused Swings-His-Sword to fire his crossbow before Elara had given the order. With a dull thud it buried itself into the chest of the ancient being, and the Argonian gave a triumphant shout. "Did you see that?" he said in his raspy accent, "I got it! Right in its heart!" The rest of them continued to watch though, as the vampire slowly looked to the steel bolt embedded in its chest and with a single pull, tore it out and snapped it in half. The area where the bolt had been looked unharmed

"Damn, ready your crossbows and fire!" Elara commanded, summoning a ball of blue magefire from her staff. They launched their attack, but the monster was much faster than they thought it would be. It quickly jumped to avoid their projectiles, and in the blink of an eye, jumped up from the shallow water and stood a few feet away. Karl and Sven didn't waste a second, each drawing their great weapon and charging towards the beast. Agmaer simply stood there frozen in fear at the being before him.

It was like he was trapped in a nightmare, watching the scene before him like it was happening in slow motion. It dodged the blow from Karl's hammer and leapt over Sven as he made a horizontal swipe. After landing behind Sven it plunged its clawed hand deep into the Nord's back.

"NO!" cried his twin Karl, who rushed at the beast. Swings-His-Sword and Relmyna had reloaded now and were firing bolts at the vampire, but none of them hit him for he pulled Sven in front of him and used their comrade as a shield.

"Damn you coward! Fight like a man!" shouted Relmyna as she abandoned her crossbow and drew a war axe. The vampire laughed, a short raspy barking sound and plunged his fangs into Sven's neck causing the man to scream in pain. He then threw the hunter with terrible strength, right at Karl who was now withing swinging distance. The force sent him and his deceased brother into a wall with a sickening crack. Elara began to fire spell after spell, causing eruptions of bright light and flame to appear throughout the room. Relmyna and Swings-His-Sword began to attack the vampire, but he dodged each swing with little effort. Finally a ball of blue fire slammed into the undead, causing him to stagger.

"Now! Don't let him recover!" shrieked Elara, readying another spell. Relmyna swung her axe down and it buried into the shoulder of the beast, but he swung out at her and knocked her off down. The Argonian saw an opening and went to plunge his sword into the vampire's chest, but his sword was knocked aside and he was grabbed by the throat. It pulled the axe buried into its shoulder out and brought it down on the lizard's head splitting it in two.

"Fuck! Why won't this thing die!" Shouted Elara, who fire a bolt of lightning with each word. Once again though, the vampire leapt out of harms way, this time landing right in front of the mage. He broke her staff in two then drove it into her throat. She fell to the ground clutching the protruding piece of the staff and trying to heal her self. The vampire laughed again and was now reaching down towards her only to be knocked aside as a massive black mass collided with him. It was Relmyna, but her appearance was slowly changing. Fur sprouted from her shin and her armor began to tear. _By the Gods she's a were wolf!_ Though Agmaer, who finally began to think they would have a chance. Relmyna finished her transformation and let out a howl that echoed through the room, causing Agmaer to drop to the ground covering his ears. As he began to get up he heard a snarl. Relmyna was standing right in front of him, but her eyes were wild. He didn't think she could tell between friend and foe any more. He scrambled to get up and find his axe that he dropped. When he picked it up he held it with both hands in front him and said, "HA!" The were wolf swung and he was stuck in the shoulder, then she tackled him. Pinned to the floor he had no way to stop her from tearing into his shoulder with her fangs, he could feel his bone breaking with a crunch and watched as his arm, his right arm, was torn from his body and swallowed whole.

This was it, everyone was dead or dying. Relmyna was going to eat him alive and then probably eat what was left of their group. _Damn it. _He thought _My whole life has added up to nothing. I thought if I could be a member of the Dawnguard that I could make a difference. I just wanted to protect the people of Skyrim, to save them. How stupid, to think I could save anyone. I couldn't even save myself or the others. _Relmyna was getting ready to take another swipe at him. He accepted his fate, and closed his eyes as he waited for his end.

Except it didn't come. He heard a rattle and the crushing weight of the werewolf was pulled off of his chest. He opened his eyes and managed to turn his head enough to see where she went. In his panic to escape from Relmyna he completely forgot about the vampire. It looked different from a few moments ago. Its skin was still paler than snow, but its wispy strands of hair were now longer, and he had more of it. The vampire was also less shriveled looking, he was still far more thin than any human, but it looked less like a draugr than it did before. hanging in front of the vampire was Relmyna, the silver chains that once held up the coffin were now wrapped around her neck and keeping her suspended in the air. She struggled to break free of the chains, but silver is just as damaging to werewolves as it is to vampires. The leech picked up Swings-His-Sword's silver longsword off the ground and began to stab Relmyna repeatedly with it. Soon she lay still and the ancient vampire buried the sword up to the hilt in her stomach.

Agmaer's eyes began to close as the vampire approached him. He had bled out for too long and was losing consciousness. The last words he heard were deep and soothing, "Sleep now, awaken as a new being." and his world faded to black.


	3. Chapter 3

When he awoke Agmaer felt like hell. He wasn't expecting to be alive either. He also wasn't expecting to come face to face with the decapitated head of Elara. Agmaer jumped up, immediately regretting his action as he fell right back over and landed on his face.

"Awake are you?" spoke a voice in behind him. He rolled over and looked at the man who spoke. Sitting on the table where Agmaer had found the Divine Crusader's journal was an old man, clad in torn black robes with glowing red eyes and long white hair tied back in a ponytail like some nobles do.

"Are you the..."

"Vampire? Yes I am. My name is Surtr Ice-Veins and I am your new master."

Agmaer's eyes widened, "Master? You did you turn me into a vampire?!"

Surtr smiled at him, "No, no of course not. Well actually I did, but you remain human. I find it rather interesting"

"Bastard! I'll kill you!" he spat.

"Oh, you'll do no such thing I assure you. While you may not yet be a vampire I still have command over you, so if I choose to I can make you into a mindless puppet. However that would be far less entertaining."

"Oblivion take you!"

"They tried that," Surtr spoke with a grin, "It didn't work."

Agmaer pushed himself up, or at least he tried. Looking at his shoulder he saw only a stump where his arm used to be. Surtr looked up from the journal of Tobias Iron-Hand and then at his new servant.

"Thats right, forgot to tell you. The she-wolf took your arm, as well as most of the right half of your body. I'm afraid being locked up for two hundred years while having Arkay's blessings drain my strength has left me with little magic to work with. I'm afraid we'll have to put off restoring your arm until I've replenished my strength so more." He said, gesturing to the bodies of Agmaer's comrades which were heaped into a pile, bodies drained of blood.

"Sorry I didn't save any for you, but I was feeling rather parched and just couldn't help myself."

"Why didn't you drink me too, why keep me alive if you can't make me a vampire?"

"It's because you didn't turn into a vampire that I'm keeping you around, that and every lord needs a servant." His master sighed. There was a brief moment of silence before h spoke again. "Well I think it's about time we find out how you all found me, and what the worlds been up to in my absence.

So Agmaer(though he didn't want to, he found himself unable to not answer his master's questions) told him all about the civil war, and the dragon's return. He told him about how Ulfric Stormcloak died at the hands of the Legion, and how Alduin was defeated by the Dragonborn.

"And for my final question, how did you find this place?"

Agmaer struggled to hold back the words, but they came spilling out anyway. "The Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold came to us with the information, she told our leader Isran." Upon hearing this there was a look of surprise on his master's face. "Do you know her name, or what she looked like?"

Agmaer shook his head, "no, and I though you said that was your last question."

Surtr simply chuckled, "I said nothing of the sort." Then he turned and began to walk towards the exit.

"Where are you going?" asked Agmaer as he struggled to match his master's pace.

"I have no desire to stay in this damnable tomb any longer. Come Agmaer, I wish to reach Winterhold as soon as possible." They walked through the tunnel, but then Surtr stopped and faced the way they came. He extended one hand and Agmaer felt a surge of energy pass by him. The way they came collapsed, sealing of the room that would serve as a tomb to his old comrades.

They reached the surface rather quickly, the bars that had originally blocked the exit disintegrated the moment Surtr touched them. Agmaer was glad to breathe the fresh air again. He looked behind him at the vampire, who placed the stone slabs over the opening like the were made from parchment. For a moment Agmaer could see a hint of sadness on Surtr's face. It lasted only for a moment before the vampire turned to him, his face once again expressionless. They walked in silence, Surtr looked over his shoulder one last time and Agmaer swore he whispered something. "Good bye, old friend."

* * *

Author's Comments: Hello there readers, I thought I should mention some stuff bout the story to help you all better understand the events that have happened in skyrim before Surtr's release. Most of the guild quests were done not by the Dragonborn. That means the head of the Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood, College of Winterhold, and The Companions are all different people. The Dawnguard quests haven't been started, and they may not happen in the story the same way they do in the game. Also, it may have been hard to tell because I didn't state it and Surtr makes funny comments, but he is a very serious fellow, so his remarks are supposed to sound sarcastic. That also means when he shows emotions or does things that aren't making him seem rather cruel, other characters that see him as evil will be confused. Any who, I hate leaving these things so don't expect to see one again soon, or at least one this long. "FUS-BRO-DAH! Brovahkiin, Brovahkiin blah blah blah blah"


	4. Chapter 4

The journey to Winterhold went much smoother than Agmaer expected. The moved by night, and stopped during the day to rest. However his _master_ wasn't the one doing the resting. Despite claiming to be in a weakened state Surtr was a force to be reckoned with. He slew bandits and wild beasts as easily as one would crush an ant underfoot. They were currently holed up in one of the ruined houses within the rumbling city of Winterhold.

Agmaer was bundled in several cloaks his master had gathered for him from bandit camps during their trek. Surtr forbid him from starting a fire, he said it was to keep the guards from investigating two strangers camping in their city. Although knowing the bastard it was probably just to make Agmaer suffer. _Damn sadist, _he thought, _just cuz you cant feel the cold. _The only thing that made his suffering worth while was seeing the ice and snow that clung to Surtr's beard and hair, giving him a very comical appearance. When he first saw the vampire lord he looked like a shriveled corpse, but now his features were becoming more human. The wisps of dusty white hair that sprouted from his skull had become much thicker and darker, hiving him a short mane of gray hair, and a short gray beard. Surtr's body wasn't as thin anymore either, he still looked like an old man, but at least he didn't look like a walking twig.

Since leaving the cave Agmaer had been forced to leave behind his ruined armor and donned some decent fur armor, and Surtr wore the black robes of a mage. The awkward silence between them was interrupted when a black rat scurried across the ruined remains of what Agmaer guessed was the kitchen, and into Surtr's palm. His undead lord then brought the rat to his mouth and swallowed it. _Ugh, did that just happen? _

"So you eat rats to? Guess when you go hungry for a couple centuries one can't be to picky eh?

Surtr cleared his throat before speaking, possibly to dislodge any fur left behind by the rodent. "That wasn't just any rat, it was a familiar. I keep a few of them to do my bidding, its quite a handy trick actually. If you want I could show you."

"Errr, I think I'll stick to stale bread and mead thank you."

Surtr simply shrugged and stood up, "Suit yourself." Then he turned towards the doorway and motioned for Agmaer to follow him. As he stood Agmaer noticed an elf wearing the robes of a college mage.

"You are the Nord named Surtr, correct?" asked the mage. To which Surtr simply replied "Aye." The elf gave him a skeptical look but turned and began to walk towards the cliffs.

After a few minutes they reached the college, and the mer led them into a room with a large tree in the middle. The college mage called out to someone in the room Agmaer could not see, "Is there anything else you require Arch-Mage?"

"No, thank you Enthir." replied a voice that sounded like a young woman.

Enthir left the room and a person appeared under the tree.

Agmaer was speechless, the wood elf in front of them was stunning, she wore robes that shone like moonlight and seemed to move as though invisible wind blew through them. Her hair was bright silver and flowed past her shoulders, and her eyes were pure white. But what really surprised him was when she stood up, walked through her garden and threw her arms around Surtr in a big hug, and he hugged her back.

"Its been far too long my lord."

"I think so too, its good to see you again Nel." Finally she noticed Agmaer standing off to the side and turned to face him. "Greetings young man, I am Nelioniel, Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold."

At first he was amazed at how lovely her voice was, and he started to reach out towards the hand she offered to him, but he forgot that he no longer had a hand to offer back, and then he remembered who sent them the information on Surtr's tomb, and what happened to those who had gone in with them.

He gave her a cold look, and placed his remaining hand on his right shoulder where his arm used to be.

"You set us up."

"Hmmm?"

Surtr was the one who spoke up, "Ah he was part of the group who released me from my slumber."

Nelioniel turned to him with a look of surprise on her face, "you spared one?"

_Dammit, she expected us to die! _"Your as much of a monster as he is."

However, she seemed not to be insulted by the remark. Instead she laughed at him. "Oh please, your friends served a greater purpose, one far greater than slaying vampires." She turned back to Surtr, who was now sitting down and pouring himself a glass of wine. "Why did you bring him here if he isn't like us?"

Agmaer's mouth dropped open, "You're a vampire too!? You damned monsters need to be wiped out, do these students know about you, are they vampires too!"

Surtr waved a hand at him, causing him to be thrown back into a chair, which he could not get up from no matter how much he struggled. The vampire stood from his seat and walked over to Agmaer. "My boy, I'll have you know that Nel is not a vampire, and I think its time we helped you to stop seeing the world in black and white."

He turned to Nel and gave her a nod, and she picked up a staff from the table and walked towards them.

"What are you doing?!" spat the ex vampire hunter.

"Showing you the truth my boy, we're going to show you why I was locked away from the world, and why I became what you call a monster in the first place." The staff the Arch-Mage wielded was terrifying, it resembled the skull of some daedra with its eyes sewn shut. Purple smoke started to billow out of the skull's mouth, and as he breathed it in, Agmaer's world began to turn black.


End file.
